Cultivation theory

        Many people still believe advertising does not affect them as much or in any way at all. We are so naive. The fact is advertising as subtle as it may be, changes the way society acts and thinks about certain subjects. This blog will examine the cultivation theory and how it helps me understand the concepts of stereotypes and gender differences in the media.
        Before watching Killing Me Softly i hadnt fully thought about or analyzed commercials or advertisements as closely as they did in the movie. It was eye opening to see how repetitive images of beauty can be for women. It instills an idea in all women that say certain measurements or sizes of body parts equal beauty. Cultivation theory is a step above social learning because were past the point of just imitation and reaached the point where ads have taken over and over time we have grown up thinking that a size zero is the only size of beauty.
        In Kiling me softly we saw images in the media that focus primarily on looks. There was one part that caught my attention the most. When the narrator talked about photoshopping she pointed out one instance that a company named Mirabella used photoshop to put different parts of a women together in order to make the "ideal" or perfect woman. How sad is it to see that for them there wasnt a woman out there "beautiful" enough to put on the front of their ad that they had to actually create her. It creates this image that is literally impossible unless surgery was involved. Throughout time these images have evolved and are now apart of our lives. More and more we see women who become even clinically depressed if they do not look a certain way and they are increasingly unhappy with their body. Plastic surgery has increased dramatically as women are asking for the nose of the breasts of their dream because they believe that will bring them true beauty when it will ultimately make them even more insecure with themselves. Our society through print ads or commercials or internet has lead us to believe that we can not look perfect and "we are not trying hard enough if we dont." The cultivation theory states that the reality is that we will never be what the ideal woman looks like. In order for us to be beautiful there is something in everyone that needs to be changed. That is what we are lead to believe but in fact we are all unique and that is what makes us truly beautiful.